Chapter 50

With the help of magic, Lucía's voice was incredibly loud.

Loud enough for everyone on the entire playground to hear.

"Lucía, let them talk. Brother Murong and I won't lose anything. You shouting like that, I have to go out. Sigh!" Nalasha put her arm around Lucía's shoulders and said helplessly.

Then she and Gongsun Murong walked down and stood on the competition platform.

Both of them found it quite amusing.

What was the point of a platform? To limit the range of movement?

It was clearly just a game; in real battles, there were no such boundaries.

If you couldn't win, you ran. You ran as hard as you could. Life was more important than anything else. What others thought of as winning or losing didn't matter to them.

Gongsun Murong drew his sword, a specially customized treasure sword that suited him well. He had used it in previous battles, and it was excellent.

Nalasha immediately pushed him to the side: "Brother Murong, you'd better not fight. I'm afraid you can't control yourself. Your inner strength is specifically designed to break through magic and battle aura. What if the opponent reacts slowly? I'll handle it. Give me that little stick, the one with a soft layer wrapped around a metal rod. I'll resolve the battle."

Gongsun Murong thought for a moment and handed Nalasha a stick similar to a rubber bat.

Nalasha weighed it in her hands, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "I will only accept the challenge of the last person who failed to secure a position. There are seventeen positions, so the last match should have thirty-four people, with seventeen failures.

Of course, successful candidates can also challenge, but if they lose, they lose their qualification, and someone else will take their place. I represent both myself and Brother Murong. Who wants to go first?"

"Let's get one thing straight. Once you step up, the battle starts. I don't have time to waste. Please!" Nalasha added.

After about ten seconds, a boy who looked around eight years old stepped up to the other side of the platform.

"I am a mage, although..."

"Down." Nalasha rushed over in a few steps, swung the stick with both hands, and knocked the boy off the platform.

She won easily, but Nalasha was not happy at all. Instead, she felt sad. Was this the level of the mages the duchy was sending out?

He didn't attack or defend, just stood there talking.

Do you think this is a bard telling a story? I wouldn't waste time with you.

If I did, I'd be dead. When selling water to adventurers, attacks can come at any moment. There's no time for chatter.

If everyone participating in the duchy's assessment is like this, there's no point in relying on them.

The boy who was knocked down clearly didn't understand what had happened. He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into tears: "I didn't finish talking!"

Lucía, who was in the stands, sighed and said, like an adult, "Indeed, those who haven't experienced it don't know how to face it. Finish talking?

When Nalasha and Brother Murong made their final charge, if someone dared to stop and say such a thing, they would likely be killed by a group of second, third, or fourth-level earth mages. Do you expect someone who can instantly cast a large spell to chat with you on the battlefield?"

"We need to change the college system." Duke Gers also realized the severity of the problem.

Another female teacher's voice joined in: "Combat is about seizing the moment, the blink of an eye. Children, you have too little experience."

The teacher who spoke was the same one who had assessed Gongsun Murong and the others, a woman named Aileen who loved spicy hotpot.

From her words, it was clear that she had also been involved in real battles.

Another boy jumped up, releasing his battle aura as he did so, a first-level second-tier aura.

Considering his age, which was less than ten, his cultivation was quite good.

"Little girl, you..."

"Under the guidance of the God of Magic, the world is omnipresent... end!" Nalasha began chanting as she swung the stick.

By the time she said the fourth word, a small fireball flew out. When she said the word "omnipresent," the opponent was carried off the platform by the fireball.

He was carried, not exploded.

The fireball disappeared after carrying him down.

All the children in the academy were stunned.

They didn't feel joy for the victor or sadness for the loser. They felt frustrated.

That girl from the comprehensive department was too mean.

She was clearly a mage but used a stick to knock people down.

She could instantly cast a basic fireball but insisted on chanting.

This was unfair.

She didn't follow the rules.

Her character was terrible.

What else could she do besides deceive?

Protests began, not just from the students but also from their parents.

"That little girl, if you have the guts, fight face-to-face. Don't use such despicable tactics." A big brother of a student shouted, his voice carrying far and wide.

Nalasha looked over and shook her head lightly: "You're not worthy of a real fight. Next."

Lucía quickly added, "Only those with the right to challenge are allowed to do so. Control yourself."

Her words were well-intentioned.

She sensed that the person was a ninth-level wind mage, just over twenty years old, with good talent.

But if he challenged Nalasha, he was far too weak.

From the image, Nalasha understood that without wearing equipment of the same or counter-attribute, she was just a bit weaker than a second-level earth mage.

With the right equipment, she would dominate the field.

What right did someone who couldn't even reach the level of a great mage have to challenge her? Did he think his combat experience was richer than Nalasha's?

But the challenger didn't understand Lucía's concern. He thought the competition was rigged, and the spots were fixed.

So he suddenly flew up, releasing seven wind blades, aiming at Nalasha.

Nalasha's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she had time to look back at Duke Gers.

Duke Gers quickly raised his hand and waved.

"Hmph!" Nalasha snorted, and the person flying in the air fell to the ground, the wind blades dissipating instantly.

Someone immediately rushed over to control and escort him away.

Duke Gers breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Nalasha had held back.

"No more. It's boring." Nalasha pouted, picked up the stick, and flew towards Gongsun Murong.

The playground erupted in a commotion.

It turned out that this girl who had entered the list early could fly.

Most of the protests turned into praise for Nalasha, as if she had already brought honor to the duchy.

Of course, some people still complained, grumbling that the duchy hadn't informed them in advance.

"Clearly a talented mage, why be so mysterious?"

"Is it so hard to add a note to the list?"

"You always have to reveal your strength on the platform. Why not tell us earlier so we could cooperate?"

"Can anyone tell me if the other person who didn't come up is as strong as that girl?"

"Strongly request to know the situation of every contestant."

"Don't hide from each other."

Various voices rang out in a chaotic mess.

Gongsun Murong ignored them all. He needed to return home to break through his realm and then try to learn magic and battle aura.

Nalasha also planned to stabilize her inner strength, aiming to reach at least the upper first rank.

If she accidentally fell into an enemy's forbidden magic field, she needed a way to save herself.

She would also learn battle aura. With her magic, she just needed to work hard, sleep, and wake up to find herself improved, as she had always done.

Princess Lucía followed without hesitation, thinking of having Nalasha as her sparring partner to train in combat.

Duke Gers did not leave. He stayed for a meeting.

The farce had calmed down, and countless people dispersed with their own thoughts.

News of another person in the duchy with a wind magic affinity of over eighty began to spread rapidly.

******

In the main meeting room of the First Academy of the duchy, Duke Gers sat at one end of a long table, his face dark.

On either side of him were the deans and vice-deans of the various academies of the duchy, all with grim expressions.

"I have just received a piece of news, and I believe you have all heard it," Duke Gers leaned forward, placing his arms on the table and slowly scanning the room.

The deans nodded.

"Someone was behind the protests. The ninth-level mage who challenged admitted that he was paid two hundred gold coins to provoke. They even tried to find an opportunity to directly injure the other two people on the list who were exempt from the trials. Unfortunately for those in the shadows, they misjudged the situation. Sophia Nalasha is not someone a mere ninth-level mage can harm."

Duke Gers shared the intelligence he had received.

One of the deans added, "As you can imagine, regardless of the outcome, part of Sophia Nalasha's strength has been revealed. This is exactly what our competitors wanted. We can say their plot succeeded in part."

"Yes, it is reassuring that Gongsun Murong did not intervene. To be honest, I, too, was curious about their true strength," said a vice-dean from a smaller academy, clearly not present by the lake earlier.

Many of the attendees looked expectantly at the Duke.

Duke Gers narrowed his eyes, but a hint of satisfaction was visible. He had no intention of revealing the true strength of the two children to everyone. Those who had seen the footage would not leak the information. They looked forward to the moment when the two children would suddenly intervene at a critical juncture, turning the tide and making all those who had tried to outsmart them suffer a great loss. They were beings who could contend with earth mages in their domains. More importantly, that was not their final means of survival.

"The first spring is not going to be easy," Duke Gers said, seemingly off-topic, as the others looked at him expectantly.

He continued, "Beneath the Soul Lake, a teleportation portal directly connecting to the Virginia Lake of the Mitchell Empire has appeared, and a fierce battle took place. The scene was brutal, and countless lives were lost."

"Aah?" Several people gasped in shock.

More people showed signs of sorrow, believing that the duchy's forces had encountered the enemy empire's army. They wondered how many brave warriors would never see the sun rise again.

While the people in the capital enjoyed peace, who knew about the sacrifices and contributions made in the shadows?

Duke Gers looked mournful but secretly smiled. The brutal scene and the loss of countless lives had nothing to do with the duchy. However, it made him even more determined to support Gongsun Murong and Nalasha. These two children had fought bravely, facing the enemy's attacks. They were heroes of the duchy. After returning from the empire's selection, he would elevate them to the rank of marquess.

The Sunflower emblem, indeed, as the legend goes, was not for the weak. Picking ten sunflowers from the lake bottom seemed easy, but why hadn't others done it? Was it luck? Yes, it was luck, but luck only favors the strong. If the two children lacked the strength, they might not have even seen the sunflowers.

Duke Gers's thoughts wandered far until the others recovered from the shock of the news. He then continued, "There is also the spring plowing in the duchy, including the disaster caused by excessive rain. Two days ago, an urgent report from Water Prayer City indicated that the Ruyeh people might be planning something..."

******

A reader asked me on QQ why I reduced the updates to two per day. To explain, it's not that I don't want to update three times a day, but due to personal issues, I need to make some adjustments, so the updates are a bit slower. I will adjust and come back. For now, I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your support.